Funding boost for Lincolnshire life-saving charity

From left, Nikki Silver, CEO of LIVES, with Brett Forman, one of the new LIVES medics, and Emma Fletcher from CDS Action. EMN-180702-115256001

Published:12:06Wednesday 07 February 2018

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A Lincolnshire charity will be able to recruit and train three additional medical responders thanks to a donation of more than £15,000.

LIVES, which responds to emergency call outs in Lincolnshire, has been awarded £15,270 from CDS Action, a charity which supports projects in the communities where it operates.

The additional funding will be used to recruit and train three additional medical responders.

Nikki Silver, CEO from LIVES, said: “This grant is incredibly timely in helping us to recruit and equip three new volunteer medics for LIVES – the skills they bring to the roadside, day or night, make all the difference and we cannot thank CDS Action enough for this life-saving support.”

It comes as LIVES had a record year in 2017.

Ms Silver said: “2017 was a record year for LIVES community first responders and medic responders, helping 21,550 people in medical emergency.”

In Lincolnshire, the combination of a highly dispersed population and a very rural landscape and road network makes it extremely difficult to reach patients fast to provide clinical assessment and deliver the necessary care.

LIVES utilises volunteer medics to bring the hospital to the patient, wherever they may be, minimising the delay in getting life-saving treatment underway.

Medics are health care professionals with full or part time paid employment, volunteering in their spare time between shifts.

CDS provides community dentistry services across much of the East of England, including Lincolnshire.

As a social enterprise, any surplus is reinvested back into the support it provides for patients or into community health and wellbeing projects through the charity CDS Action.

So far, £125,000 has been awarded in grants to charities, social enterprises or community groups.

Alison Reid, CDS Chief Executive said: “We hope that our investment will make a real difference in Lincolnshire via the skilled support of LIVES.”

• Groups interested in applying for a grant should visit www.communitydentalservices.co.uk